Saturday, April 11, 2015

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Tekhelet was released by indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers as part of a four-polish collection for holiday 2014. Two of the four were Hanukkah polishes, one of which is Tekhelet. This is a microglitter bomb with a clear suspension base bearing a gorgeous, twinkling mix of microglitters in royal blue, turquoise and silver, some of which are holographic. It's a dancing sparklefest in blue and silver, with an added shower of rainbow-colored sparks that appear in direct light. So pretty, and so apropos for the Festival of Lights! Application was great! The consistency of Tekhelet is on the thicker side with a gel-like quality common to polish bases made especially for suspending glitters. It spreads rather than flows onto the nail in a well-mannered, easy-to-control way without undue stickiness as long as you don't overwork it. Glitter payoff is excellent with an impressive amount of components per brushful that disperse evenly over the nail. Coverage is a function of the microglitters, which are abundant enough to provide even, wearable opacity in two medium coats. Impressive! Cleanup is best done as you go along without allowing those little buggers to dry on skin or cuticle. But even dry they do come up with a bit of sweeping by the cleanup brush, which leads me to believe that this polish will remove without resorting to foil. If that's not the case, I'll leave a postscript. Tekhelet dries naturally in very good time to a matte, gently textured finish. For a glitter-under-glass look. I used a layer of Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food before topcoating, but I've seen this polish turn out beautifully with just a good layer of topcoat. Photos show two coats of Tekhelet over treatment and basecoat, with a surface-smoothing layer of Glitter Food followed by a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

The word tekhelet is Hebrew for blue or turquoise, and refers to a legendary dye used to color the robes of priests, tabernacle tapestries, prayer shawls and specially wrapped garment tassels in the Hebrew Bible. Stripes of tekhelet on prayer shawls inspired the design of the flag of Israel.

wrapped tekhelet colored strings in the tassels of a prayer garment

Tekhelet is just gorgeous on the nail, with a plush dynamic sparkle that reminds me of fiber optics. Again, very fitting for Hanukkah but also lots of fun for anytime you're craving some twinkle for your tips. Just be careful when you're driving with this puppy on your nails, especially if it's a sunny day. You won't be able to take your eyes off of it -- ask me how I know!love,Liz